Quilicura

Quilicura is a commune belonging to the Santiago Metropolitan Region, located in the northern sector of Santiago. Together with the communes of Colina, Lampa, Pudahuel, Tiltil, Cerrillos, Estación Central and Maipú, it is part of Electoral District №8 and belongs to the 7th Senatorial District corresponding to the Metropolitan Region.

The commune had an approximate area of 56.6 km², which represents 0.36% of the regional area (15,554.51 km²).

Etymology

The name Quilicura may come from the Mapuche words küla, 'three,', and kura, 'stone,' and it could be a reference to the three hills that separate Quilicura from Renca. Another possibility is that it derives from the curaca Quilicanta, Inca governor who dominated these lands and the mitimaes upon the arrival of the Spanish. It was customary for the domains to adopt the name of their rulers, as is the case of the cacique Vitacura.^{[citation required]}

History

In the 16th century the Mapocho valley was under Inca rule and its inhabitants were mainly the group known as picunches. After the Spanish conquest, these lands together with Lampa, formed the extensive farm of Quilicura, which was partly a land with an extensive lagoon (now extinguished) of rainwater.

Its first owner was Gaspar de Villaroel, one of Pedro de Valdivia's soldiers. Then they were sold to Bartolomé Blumen (Flores) in 1555, who also came with Pedro de Valdivia. They were measured by Ginés de Lillo. Later, they were inherited by Águeda Flores (Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer's grandmother) and she in turn gave them as part of the dowry to her daughter María Flores (Quintrala's aunt). This Lísperguer, in turn, donated it to his nephew Juan Rodulfo Lísperguer, who was married to Doña Catalina Lorenza Irarrázaval Aguilera, who, when widowed, sold them to Juan de Castro y Pro and Doña Gregoria de Zavala Amezquita in 1656.

Juan de Castro contracted debts with the convent of the Agustinas and after some lawsuits they were ceded to his daughter Ana Castro Pro Zavala in 1695. In 1700, they were inherited by Gregoria Leiva Castro who had many lawsuits with the Augustinians, and finally It went up for auction in 1744, being purchased by José Fernández Campino.

Francisco Solano Asta-Buruaga y Cienfuegos wrote in 1899 in his Geographical Dictionary of the Republic of Chile about the place:

Quilicura (Station of).- In the railway of Santiago to Valparaiso and is located in the department of the first name to the southeast part of the former predio that gives it the title. It takes 10 kilometers to the NO. of the city of Santiago and four to the N. of the station of Renca, it leaves also close to the O. the village of a few inhabitants, which was the seat of destitute primitives and which has conveyed the name of Quilicura (from quyly thing lade, and of cure, stone), to the station and fundos contiguos.

The city of Quilicura (founded in 1901) in the first instance was a set of agricultural plots that formed an agrarian community close to the capital. Starting in the second half of the XX century, it began to experience rapid population growth, encouraged by the new villas being built and the proximity to the capital.

The Chilean geographer Luis Risopatrón described it as a 'village' in his book Diccionario Jeográfico de Chile in 1924:

Quilicura (Aldea) 33° 23' 70° 45' It has a service of mails and public schools and is located in the middle of fifths and orchards, abundant in fruits and vegetables, at short distance made the S W of the station of the same name, of the central railway; it was seat of native primitives. 63, p. 244; 68, p. 189; i 156; people in 101. p. 424; i farmhouse in 155, p. 618.

In January 1960, some motorcycling competitions began in the commune, known as the "Circuito de Quilicura" which consisted of a competition for high-level South American motorcyclists. There were approximately 1500 m of track, which circulated through the streets José F. Vergara, San Martín, Blanco Encalada, Manuel Rodríguez, Guardiamarina Riquelme and ending in Los Carreras reaching the intersection with Vergara. The competition was held every Sunday until its last day, which in full competition on May 22, the 1960 earthquake occurred, thus ending the classic Sunday races for the commune.

On September 6, 2012, Google announced the construction of the first Data Center in Latin America in the commune, with an investment of USD 150,000,000, which would come into operation at the end of 2013.

In 2013, Mall Arauco Quilicura was inaugurated. During the month of November 2019, in the context of the social outbreak, the shopping center was accused of being used by the PDI to detain and torture protesters. Due to this it was burned and looted by Protestants in the days that followed.

Local politics

During the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Quilicura was governed by Ana María Ried, a designated mayor. Later, in 1992, the Christian Democrat Carmen Romo Sepúlveda, who was in charge of the commune for 16 years (1992-2008), was elected as community leader. During her tenure in the municipality, the commune was under one of the most explosive housing and industrial growths, which makes Quilicura one of the most populated communes in Santiago. In addition, during its management, public spaces such as green areas, the Cultural Center, the Municipal Gymnasium and the Municipal Stadium were created.

During the 2008 municipal election, the independent candidate Juan Carrasco Contreras was elected with 41.98% of the votes, who faced María Indo Romo, daughter of Carmen Romo, who obtained 25.55%. Carrasco governed. the commune for more than 12 years, being able to be re-elected 2 times. During his period, various projects were created such as the inauguration of the communal Popular Pharmacy, the "Popular" Veterinary, among others. During his tenure, works were implemented to improve the poor connectivity of the commune, such as the opening of a new entrance on Avenida lo Marcoleta, the start of construction on Line 3 of the Santiago Metro, and the inauguration of Los Libertadores station. On October 16, 2020, the mayor joined the Communist Party.

Juan Carrasco was unable to run for re-election as Mayor, due to a new law that limited mayoral re-election to a maximum of three consecutive terms. During the 2021 municipal elections, the independent candidate was elected by a narrow margin, supported by the Frente Amplio coalition, Paulina Bobadilla, with 21.56% of the votes compared to 21.32% for her opponent, the independent Oscar Saldaña.

Climate and morphology

Residential districts of the commune.

Because it is part of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, the city of Quilicura has the same climatic characteristics defined for the entire central zone, with a Mediterranean climate, annual temperatures of 13 °C and maximum temperatures above 30 °C in summer. The topography of the land is mostly flat, at times undulated by certain hills that go unnoticed. The commune is surrounded by several hills, such as Cerro Renca, which gives a sensation of being in an independent basin. The predominant vegetation is shrubs, thorns and Mediterranean vegetation.^{[citation needed]}

The commune has several wetlands, which have been threatened by the growing real estate industry.

Administration

Municipality

The Illustrious Municipality of Quilicura is directed in the 2021-2024 period by the mayoress Paulina Bobadilla Navarrete, elected as an independent, by the Broad Front pact. The mayoress works together with a municipal council that regulates and oversees the administration. The councilors are:

Democratic Socialism

• Juan Muñoz Milla (Ind-PPD)

Chile Come on

• Miguel Astudillo Cáceres (RN)

I approve of Dignity

• Daniela Cuevas Fuentes (PCCh)
• Lorena Ayala Galaz (Ind-RD)

Out of Coalition

• María Margarita Indo Romo (DC)
• Alexandra Arancibia Olea (Ind-PEV)
• Nicolas Quiroz Venegas (Ind-PEV)
• Gonzalo López Pizarro (Ind-PH)

Parliamentary representation

After the modification to the district configuration according to Law 20,840, Quilicura integrates electoral district No. 8 together with the communes of Colina, Lampa, Pudahuel, Maipú, Til Til, Cerrillos and Estación Central. On the other hand, the commune belongs to the VII Senatorial Circumscription that represents the entire Metropolitan Region of Santiago. According to the results of the 2021 Chilean parliamentary elections, Quilicura is represented in the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress by the following deputies:

I approve of Dignity (2)

• Carmen Hertz Cádiz (PCCh)
• Claudia Mix Jiménez (COM)

Chile Come on (2)

• Joaquín Lavín León (UDI)
• Cristián Labbé Martínez (UDI)

Out of coalition:

• Alberto Undurraga Vicuña (DC)
• Agustín Romero Leiva (PLR)

• Viviana Delgado Riquelme (PEV)

• Ruben Oyarzo Figueroa (PDG)

In turn, the Senate is represented by Fabiola Campillai Rojas (Ind), Claudia Pascual (PCCh), Luciano Cruz Coke (EVOP), Manuel José Ossandon (RN) and Rojo Edwards (PLR) in the period 2022-2030.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census, the commune had 126,518 inhabitants, of whom 62,421 are men and 64,027 are women. The ethnicities of the population were 96% White and Mestizo (121,815), 3.4% Mapuche (4,346), >1% Aymara (47), >1% Atacameño (40), >1% Quechua (29), >1% Rapanui (25), >1% Alacalufe (10), >1% Yámana (10), >1% Colla (4), according to the 2002 census.

For the year 2017; According to the results of the 2017 census delivered by the National Institute of Statistics, the population of the commune increased to a total of 210,410 inhabitants, of which 103,456 (49%) correspond to men, while 106,954 (51%) correspond to women; so his masculinity index is 96.7.

During the last few years, Chile has experienced a progressive increase in the immigrant population of Haitian origin, who have preferably settled in the Quilicura commune (22.8% of Haitian residents in Chile resided in Quilicura for the year 2017). Thus, Quilicura is presented as one of the Haitian population's favorite communes to settle in Chile, receiving the nickname little Haiti or petit Haiti.

Economy

In 2020, the number of companies registered in Quilicura was 4,928. The Economic Complexity Index (ECI) in the same year was 1.45, while the economic activities with the highest Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index were Manufacture of Parts for Probing or Drilling Machines (26.04), Collection and Waste Disposal (24.7) and Electronic Component Manufacturing (23.88).

In 2015, Google installed its first data centers in Quilicura.

Trade

The creation of outlet type commercial establishments has proliferated in the commune, being a destination for those who carry out urban shopping tourism with discounts in Greater Santiago.

Environment

Recycling

The KDM Treatment plant, located in the commune, is the largest separation waste management plant for recycling in South America.

Renewable energy

In September 2019, the central plant of the Ideal company, belonging to Grupo Bimbo, installed a photovoltaic self-consumption system with 6,444 solar panels on the roof of the factory, which allowed it to generate 27% of the electrical energy required for its production process, which made it the second largest system of its kind in Latin America.

Transportation and road connectivity

Quilicura, due to its great demographic growth mentioned above, will have a connection to the Santiago Metro from 2023, with 3 stations of the new Line 3, all along Manuel Antonio Matta Avenue until reaching the Plaza de Armas of the commune.

(in construction): Plaza de Quilicura • Lo Cruzat • Railroad • Los Libertadores (the latter opened in 2019).

Quilicura together with the communes of Huechuraba, Renca, Conchalí, Recoleta and Independencia formed part of Zone B of Transantiago. It is currently supplied by routes from units 3, 4 and 6.

Currently, Quilicura lacks wide streets for the passage of vehicles through the commune, which causes chaos at the access entrances in the commune at rush hour. For example, the two main accesses are through the intersection of Américo Vespucio with the Autopista Central and Américo Vespucio with San Martín. In both, the track is reduced to a single track, in certain sections, even more so in the Vespucio Norte motorway lane, where most of it is a single track, generating traffic jams. The municipal administration is unaware that there are such traffic jams in the commune, but it is visible to see the tacos on Av. Matta with O'Higgins. The commune was built for no more than 150,000 inhabitants, and today there are more than 300,000 inhabitants. Important road axes of regional and metropolitan connotation generate access to the city of Quilicura, these are: Central Highway, General San Martín Los Andes Highway and the Vespucio Norte Express Highway. Within the territory there is also an important network of roads, under development and projected, which are part of the explosive physical-territorial, urban and human growth of the commune, as well as roads for the circulation of the Transantiago with express services for peak hours.

Limits

• North: Lampa-Colina
• South: Renca-Pudahuel
• This: Huechuraba-Conchalí
• West: Lampa

Sectors

• Municipal Workers Villa
• Valle Lo Campino
• Industrial neighborhood Lo Boza
• Barrio Industrial Buenaventura
• Barrio Quilicura Centro
• Barrio Industrial Vespucio Norte
• Altos de Quilicura
• Villa Los Jardines (Quilicura)
• Villa Santa Teresita
• Villa El Amanecer
• Villa Lo Cruzat
• Villa Juan Francisco González
• Red Rock
• Condo Los Robles
• Villa Sodimac
• Villa Tres Puntas
• Villa Gildemeister
• Villa Lieutenant Pizzoleo
• Villa Los Tijerales
• Population La Arboleda (Quilicura)
• Villa Eugenia